Arrangement in a supporting device for goods

ABSTRACT

A device for use with a support for goods which are to stand in rows on the shelves of a shop or store-room, in particular such goods as are arranged in compartments formed by transverse dividers. The support includes a track ( 6 ) provided with sawtooth racks ( 8 ) and a support device ( 7 ) that can be moved along the track, with a bottom plate ( 13 ), a support back ( 15 ) projecting upward from the bottom plate, and backward-projecting locking elements ( 16 ) which interact with the sawtooth rack ( 8 ) in the track. The device includes an operating tool ( 10 ) arranged under the bottom plate ( 13 ) of the support device ( 7 ) in such a way that it can be pulled out. The operating tool is designed with lugs projecting upward from it arranged to interact with the bottom plate ( 13 ) of the support device when the operating tool ( 10 ) is pulled out, in order to bring the support device forward by means of a forward movement of the operating tool, for moving forward goods which are supported by the support device.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a device for use with a support forgoods which are to stand in rows on the shelves of a shop or store-room,in particular such goods as are arranged in compartments formed bytransverse dividers, which support comprises a track provided withsawtooth racks and a support device that can be moved along the track,which support device has a bottom plate and a support back projectingupward from the bottom plate.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

Supports of this kind are used, for example, for supporting productspacked in sachets, small boxes or packages. In order to make it easy forthe consumer to take hold of the first package in a row, the row ofpackages should be kept to the front edge of the shelf. This requiresamong other things the row of packages to be supported by a support backwhich can easily be moved in the appropriate compartment. The support ismoved forward as the goods are removed, but must then be able to bereturned to a position toward the back of the shelf for replenishinggoods in the compartment.

Known support devices are available for this purpose, comprising a trackprovided with a sawtooth rack which is arranged in the compartment andinteracts with a support device that can be moved along the track, whichsupport device has projections engaging with the sawtooth rack on thetrack and a support back projecting upward from the bottom plate. Aproblem with certain known devices of this kind has been that thesupport device can be moved backward in the compartment unintentionallyby the application of a force to the vertical support back.

In order to eliminate this problem, devices have previously beenproposed in which the risk of such unintentional movement is eliminated.This has, however, meant that the devices have become more complicatedto use, as an intentional movement of the support device has also beenmade more difficult. In some embodiments, such a movement requires thewhole support device to be pivoted forward before it can be moved. Thismeans, however, that products standing on the support device must alsobe tipped forward.

Another device utilizes a spring element which engages with the sawtoothrack on the track. The engagement of the spring element with the trackmust be released manually to permit an intentional movement of thesupport device. As the spring element is located at the back of thesupport device, there must be room to reach beside or above the supportdevice, which is not always the case. Our international patentapplication PCT/SE00/00324 describes a support of the type describedabove, in which the risk of unintentional movement of the support in abackward direction has been eliminated, while at the same time arequired movement can be carried out in a very simple way.

The previous support is of the type described in the first paragraph andis characterized in that the support device is provided withbackward-projecting elements which engage and lock with the sawtoothracks on the track when a backward force is applied to the support backand in that the said locking elements are arranged to be lifted up outof engagement with the said sawtooth racks when a backward force isapplied to a front part of the bottom plate of the support device, whichforce causes the bottom plate to pivot upward around a transverse axisat its front end as a result of the interaction between the bottom plateand the sawtooth racks on the said track, raising the back part and thesaid locking elements.

This device thus effectively prevents an unintentional movement of thesupport device backward as a result of a force on the support back andat the same time makes it easy to move it intentionally by theapplication of a force to the bottom plate of the support device, whichforce brings about a small pivoting movement of the support device andalso the required backward movement.

The support device described above can easily be moved forward byapplying a force on the rear of the support back by hand. In many cases,this can be difficult to carry out, as there can be no room to reachbehind the support device due to the positions of the shelf above andthe side dividers.

In the device described above, this is solved by an elongated operatingtool being able to be inserted under the bottom plate of the supportdevice from the front end of the track, which tool lifts the devicethereby releasing the engagement of the said locking elements with thesawtooth racks on the track and also the engagement between theprojections on the bottom plate and the said sawtooth racks, after whichthe support device can be moved forward or backward using the saidoperating tool.

By using an elongated operating tool in this way, the support device canbe operated from the front of the compartment without needing to reachthe back of the vertical support back. This is a great advantage whenthe compartments are narrow and when there is only a small distancebetween the shelf and the one above.

The device described above is thus based on the person who is going tooperate the support for goods carries a tool of the type describedabove, which tool is temporarily inserted into the compartment where thesupport back is to be moved. It cannot, however, be left in place, as itwould then protrude out from the shelf.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

The main object of the present invention is to obtain a device formoving supports for goods as described above, which can be permanentlyinserted in a compartment for goods, so that it is always in place whenthe support for goods and the goods supported by this are to be pulledforward toward the front of the respective compartment.

This is obtained according to the present invention by means of a deviceof the kind defined in the first paragraph, which is characterized inthat the track provided with sawtooth racks is stationary, in that thebottom plate of the support device forms a supporting surface for goodsand is arranged to be guided by the said tracks when it is moved, and inthat to bring about movement toward the front edge of a shelf it ismoved relative to the teeth on the track, in that the device furthercomprises an elongated operating tool of essentially the same length asthe said track, arranged under the bottom plate of the support deviceand in a recess in the track provided with sawtooth racks in such a waythat it can be pulled out, and in that the operating tool is designedwith means projecting upward from it and designed to interact with thesaid bottom plate of the support device when the operating tool ispulled out in order to bring this forward by means of a forward movementof the operating tool.

This operating tool can thus always remain in place and is simple to useand can be so designed that it automatically raises up the bottom plate,along with the goods standing on the bottom plate, when it is pulledforward. When the movement of the support device has been completed, theoperating tool can be pushed right back into the compartment, whereuponthe support device returns to the initial position with the lockingelements engaging with the sawtooth racks on the track.

The operating tool is preferably designed with two projecting lugs, oneof which is arranged to interact with a rear part of the bottom plate,while the other is arranged to interact with a part projecting downwardfrom the front part of the bottom plate. One of these lugs is therebyarranged so that it also acts as a dog means.

In a preferred embodiment, the distance between these lugs is the sameas the distance between the front and back parts of the bottom plate,which means that a simultaneous raising of the whole bottom plate isachieved when the operating tool is pulled forward.

Further characteristics of the invention will be apparent from thepatent claims.

The invention will be described in greater detail below, utilizingexamples of preferred embodiments and with reference to the attachedfigures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 shows part of a shop shelf with a support according to thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 shows an operating tool according to the present invention foruse together with the support as claimed in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows a support according to the present invention with theoperating tool installed.

FIG. 4 shows a support device incorporated in the support shown in FIG.3 viewed obliquely from below.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal section through a device as shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal section corresponding to FIG. 5, where thesupport device is in a raised position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 shows a part 1 of a shop shelf with fixing strips 2 running alongthe front and back edges of the shelf. Dividers 3 with essentiallyU-shaped fixing heads 4 are snapped onto the fixing strips 2, so thatthese dividers can be moved along the shelf to form compartments of therequired width. In the figure only one compartment is shown.

At the bottom of the compartment, there is a track 6 for a supportdevice 7. The ends of this track can also be snapped onto the fixingstrips 2.

The track 6 has two side portions provided with transverse sawtoothracks 8. Between these portions there is a recess 9. The sawtooth racks8 comprise essentially V-shaped troughs with crests between.

FIG. 2 shows an elongated operating tool 10 with two projecting lugs 11,12 on the rear part. The operating tool 10 is relatively thin and isdesigned to be inserted into the recess 9 in the support track 6 in sucha way that it can be moved, so that it extends underneath the supportdevice 7.

FIG. 3 shows the track 6 with the support device 7 and installedoperating tool 10. The support device 7 which can be moved along thetrack 6, see also FIG. 4, comprises a bottom plate 13 with essentiallyV-shaped recesses on its upper side, in which products (not shown) canbe stood.

The bottom plate 13 is provided with side flanges 14, which projectdownward, which guide the bottom plate along the edges of the track 6.At least the front parts of these flanges encloses the edges of thetrack 6 to hold the support device 7 on the track. There is, however, acertain amount of play between the track and the flanges which encloseit, allowing the support device to be raised slightly relative to thetrack.

The bottom plate 13 is provided with a support back 15 which projectsupward. The support back 15 is intended to act as a support for a row ofstanding products, for example sachets, which are supported on thebottom plate 13 and on the parts of the edges of the track 6 in front ofthis. As packets are taken from the shelf, the support device 7 with thesupport back 15 can be moved forward, so that front part of thecompartment is always kept full of packets.

In order to prevent an unintentional movement of the support device 7 inthe opposite direction, that is toward the back of the shelf, the bottomplate 13 of the support device 7 is provided with twobackward-projecting arms 16, which are arranged to interact with thetransverse toothed rack 8 of the track 6. A backward force on thesupport back 15 will thus not be able to bring about an unintentionalmovement of the support device backward. An intentional movement of thesupport device in a backward direction can, however, be achieved bymeans of a force applied on the part 17 protruding downward from thefront part of the bottom plate 13. Such a force will namely bring abouta pivoting movement upward of the back part of the bottom plate 13 whichis provided with the locking arms 16, so that the engagement betweenthese and the sawtooth rack 8 of the track 6 is released. This isdescribed in greater detail in our international patent applicationPCT/SE00/00324 mentioned above, and will not be described in greaterdetail in the present application.

In many cases, the distance between a shelf and the shelf above it andthe distance between the support back 15 and the adjacent dividers 3 canbe so small that it is not possible to reach behind the support back 15in order to pull the support device 7 forward toward the front edge ofthe shelf. This problem is solved in accordance with the presentinvention by means of the elongated operating tool 10, which is insertedunderneath the bottom plate 13 of the support device 7 in the recess 9between the edges of the track 6.

The back part of the operating tool 10 is provided with two projectinglugs 11, 12 at a distance apart which essentially corresponds to thedistance between the front and back parts of the bottom plate. Thefunction of these is as follows. When the support device 7 is to bemoved forward in a compartment, from for example the position shown inFIG. 5, the operating tool 10 is pulled outward. The projecting lug 11,which has suitably a wedge-shaped front surface, thereby fits under thebottom plate 13 of the support device and engages with thedownward-projecting part 17 of the bottom plate. At the same time, theback lug 12 engages with the lower part of the support back 15, which issuitably rounded off. As a result, the support device 7 with the bottomplate 13 and the support back 15 will be raised upward relative to thetrack 6, see FIG. 6. The rear transverse lug 12 thereby also acts as adog means, which engages with a downward-projecting lug 18 on theunderside of the bottom plate 13. The whole support device 7 can therebybe pulled forward toward the front of the shelf by pulling out theoperating tool 10.

When the required position has been reached, the operating tool 10 canbe pushed back in the recess 9, to the position shown in FIG. 5,whereupon the support device is lowered back, so that the locking arms16 re-engage and lock with the sawtooth edges of the track 6. Theoperating tool 10 can suitably be pushed right in to the track so thatno part of the operating tool projects from the front edge of the shelf.The operating tool is thereby ready for further pulling forward of thesupport device 7 when this is required.

The arrangement described is very advantageous, as the personresponsible for the display of products in the shop does not need tobring any special tool for moving the support devices in the differentcompartments, but instead can carry this out in a simple way using anoperating tool already located in the respective compartment.

The invention has been described above in connection with the preferredembodiment shown in the figures. This can, however, be varied in severalrespects within the framework of the patent claims. Thus, for example,the precise shape of the sawtooth rack on the edges of the track 6 andthe locking arms of the support device 7 can be varied. This alsoapplies to the design of the operating tool and in particular to thenumber and shape of the projecting lugs 11 and 12 and the design of theinteracting parts of the support device 7.

What is claimed is:
 1. A support system for goods which are to stand ina row on a shelf, said support system comprising: a track (6) providedwith sawtooth racks (8); a support device (7) that can be moved alongthe track, with a bottom plate (13); a support back (15) projectingupward from the bottom plate (13); locking means for engaging with thesawtooth rack (8) in the track when a backward-directed force is appliedto the support back, the locking means projecting from the supportdevice, wherein the track (6) is stationary, the bottom plate (13) ofthe support device (7) forms a supporting surface for goods and amovement of the bottom plate toward a front edge of a shelf is guided bythe track as the bottom plate moves relative to the sawtooth rack (8) inthe track; and an elongated operating tool (10) disposed under thebottom plate (13) of the support device (7) and in a recess in the track(6), the operating tool capable of begin at least partially pulled outfrom the recess in the track (6), wherein the operating tool has meansfor interacting with the support device (7) when the operating tool (10)is pulled out.
 2. The support system claimed in claim 1, wherein themeans for interacting is provided with two lugs (11, 12) which projectupward for raising and bringing forward the bottom plate (13) of thesupport device, one of the two lugs being arranged to interact with arear part of the bottom plate (13) and the other of the two lugs beingarranged to interact with a part (17) projecting downward from a frontpart of the bottom plate (13).
 3. The support system claimed in claim 2,wherein one of the lugs (12) is a dogging means.
 4. The support systemclaimed in claim 2, wherein the distance between the lugs (11, 12) isthe same as the distance between the back and front parts of the bottomplate (13) to facilitate a simultaneous raising of the whole bottomplate.
 5. The support system claimed in claim 2, wherein a front one(11) of the lugs is provided with a forward-sloping inclined surface forinteraction with a part (17) projecting downward from the front part ofthe bottom plate (13).
 6. The support system claimed in claim 2, whereina rear one (12) of the lugs engages with at least one part projectingdownward from the back part of the bottom plate (13) to move the supportdevice (7) forward, after the back part of the bottom plate has beenraised.
 7. The support system claimed in claim 2, wherein the lug (12)interacting with the back part of the bottom plate (13) interacts with arounded-off part of the bottom plate to raise the bottom plate up. 8.The support system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the rear one (12) ofthe lugs is disposed at a back edge of the operating tool (10).
 9. Thesupport system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the locking means isbackward-projecting elements (16) which interact with the sawtooth racks(8).
 10. The support system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the operatingtool is essentially the same length as the track.
 11. The support systemas claimed in claim 1, wherein the operating tool has a length such thatthe operating tool does not significantly protrude from a front end ofthe track when the operating tool is fully inserted into the recess.